This past East Coast Supercharging Corvette Challenge was more than just the regular bracket race, it was another date on the Vette Doctors Pro 8 calendar. For those of you unfamiliar with the Pro 8, here’s the way it work: The Pro 8 is a heads up race off of a pro tree, first car to the finish line wins. It is open to the 8 quickest corvettes, as determined by the time runs. More information on the Pro 8 rules can be found at the official website of the Corvette Challenge, http://www.corvettechallenge.info.
Looking at the qualifying ladder from after the final session, it’s quite possible that we have our quickest field ever. With the last Pro 8 bump spot at 11.511, and this one at 11.064, I’d say the title of ‘quickest field ever’ is a safe bet, as far as Pro 8’s are concerned (remember, this is only the second Pro 8 in history). This field featured 3 Vettes in the 9’s, with Phil DeJohn being the quickest at 9.373. He was trailed by Mike Mitchell, Paul Major, Bill Maloney, Mike Romain, Brian Miller, Tom Sabolevsky, and Mike Conway, with Mike being the only Vette in the 11’s, at an 11.054.
First round saw the quicker qualified racers Phil DeJohn, Paul Major, and Mike Mitchell earning wins over Michael Conway, Brian Miller, and Thomas Savolevsky respectively. They only higher qualified racer winning was in the #4 vs. #5 match up, Bill Maloney against Mike Romain. Mike had the better reaction time, .341 to a .568, and ran the quicker number to get the win, 10.53, to a 10.579.
The semifinal round saw the number 1 and 2 qualifiers advancing again, running et’s of 9.456 and 9.264, no match for Mike Romain’s 10.57, or Paul Major’s valiant 9.559.
Here we go, the round you’ve been waiting for, the final round between the two quickest Corvettes on the property. It would be Mike Mitchell against Phil DeJohn, the number one qualifier. Mike had been running the best in elimination rounds, a best of a 9.224, but nothing could prepare Phil for what Mike was hiding up his sleeve. Phil knew he had to perform well on the tree, and had the better reaction, .390 beat a .400. But from half track on, it was all Mike Mitchell as he posted an amazing 8.84 to a 9.406. Yeah, that’s right, an 8 second run in the Vette Doctors Pro 8!!!
That’ll put an end to another successful Vette Doctors Pro 8. Don’t forget, at the end of the year the Pro 8 champion receives a $500 gift certificate courtesy of furnakit.com.
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6/26 Pro 8 article
